Sunday 17 Aug 2008


Sunday Reading: Luke 1 1-4

 

Key Verse: Luke 1 4

4  so that you might know the certainty of those things in which you have been instructed.



Devotion:
How often have you been frustrated by other people who have not told your story properly. I mean, here you go, trying to explain things properly to one person, and they go off and tell someone else something different and have the cheek to say that you told them that! I am sure that we have all been there at some stage, and may well have been the one that got the story wrong too!

Luke must have got a bit frustrated by the “broken telephone syndrome” when he would do his best to go out and preach God's Word as it was told to him and then have have others get it wrong and then for them to explain it incorrectly to others. He decided to make sure that they got the wrong truth by writing it all down and giving it to the church as a written document; that way they could not get it wrong! If only things were as simple as that in real life!

No matter how much we write things down and explain it to people, some will always come up with their own ideas. Some will even think that their ideas must be better than your and start telling others their own ideas in preference to the truth. That is just part of human life – each one of us seems to want to be known is some better way than others. Until we can let go of that need to be recognised in some way more than others, we will continue to bend the rules, bend the truth and go off on our own ideas!

God wants us to come forward humbly to accept His Word as the truth and to faithfully recount His word to others. This does not mean that we have to stick to reading His Word directly from the scriptures and nothing else... What it does mean is that we need to find out the truth before we start spreading it to others. What good would it be if I started to tell you how to make birds nest soup if I did not even know what ingredients to use? We need to find out the truth by reading all of it so that we can understand it, only then can we get to grips with telling others about it...


Points to Ponder:

Do you like talking to others about things you know nothing about?

 

How much do you actually know about God's Word?

Saturday 16 Aug 2008

Saturday Reading: 1 Timothy 1 5-11

 

Key Verse: 1 Timothy 1 8

8  But we know that the law is good if a man uses it lawfully



Devotion:

The aim of God's Law is to allow everyone to see where they are going
wrong so that they can make amends in their lives to admit to their
mistakes and follow God. It's design is fulfilled when many, (who are
sinners) through their repentance towards God, come forward to exercise
their new found Christian love. As we have seen recently in these
devotions, that Christian love is a love that goes further than just
saying that you love one person or one God. As believers we are in a
relationship with Christ that allows us to grow into more than just
another person that goes to church one in a while... God's law is not
here to trip up those who try to follow it, nor to batter the Christian
round the head through constantly abasing them (humiliating them); it
is here to bring people to repentance.



Just like all good ideas, it's not going to work too well if it is not
used as it was designed. We have many people abusing God's Word around
the world by taking it out of context and using it to spread lies
rather than the truth. They make it sound so good by using a few words
from here and there and backing it up with a few more until it sounds
plausible – but doing a little bit of reading from where they say they
are getting those words will allow you to see the truth rather than
their lies. I have seen scientists, atheists and even supporters of
witchcraft refer to words from the bible to try and support their own
claims – if only they knew how silly they looked when people read up
and check... if only more people would be willing to read up and check!



You see, because people refer to a word or two from the bible, others
will be more willing to believe what they are saying – even if it is
not the truth! If man is not willing to use God's Law for it real
design, then people will not see the Law for what it is. We need to
stand up and be counted as the ones who are willing to step up to the
mark and show that we know what God's Law stands for and that we are
willing to show others the whole truth as well!



Points to Ponder:

How many times have you taken what your parents told you to use it against them?

 

Do you really think that anyone will get away with bending God's truth?

Firday 15 Aug 2008


Friday Reading: Romans 7 9-13



Key Verse: Romans 7 12

12  So indeed the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.



Devotion:
As I look back on my life as a new Christian (some years ago) I can see how I changed a little, but what is striking to look back on now is how much of a sinner I was – and still am. We think of ourselves as people who are “ok”, not as bad as others and maybe as good as some; but what we are doing is leaving out The Law. As soon as we start to compare ourselves with God's Law, we start to see how much we do sin and how much we have to let go of our former lives. We become as dead because there is so many little things that we never thought of before.

The more that we start to try and live as Christians the more we try to bend rules so that we can live within our own confines still. We like to think that we are doing the right thing by bending the rules just a tiny bit so that we can still do some of the things from our past. Does that then make it ok to do a little sin? I think not...

It was God's Law that showed us that we were sinners to start with. It was God's Law that showed us what we were doing wrong and that same Law that told us that the punishment for our sins was death. That is why we turned to God in the beginning. Why then do we not have the strength to turn our backs on that life once and for all? Why then do we hanker after that life even after we know that it is wrong?

The Law was made to be perfect, holy and just. It will always be perfect, holy and just. We are the ones that pick it up and change a few things so that we can go with a “law” that fits our needs. We are the ones that corrupt it and pass it on as the real law when it is not! Sin is what has corrupted the law and will continue to corrupt it in the same manner as dirty hands make other things dirty by covering the clean stuff with dirt... We need to take the law in its perfect, holy and just state and try our best to apply that to our lives so that we can show others that same true law rather than the dirty one we keep hold of... The commandments have not changed since they were given to Moses thousands of years ago – why should we think we could change them now?


Points to Ponder:

How many times have you “interpreted” rules to suit yourself?

 

Are you still trying to change God's Laws for your own sin?

Thursday 14 Aug 2008

Thursday Reading: Romans 12 1-2
 
Key Verse: Romans 12 2
2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.
 
Devotion:
How do you react when people do things for you? Do you say thank you? Do you do things for them in return? Well, think on that a bit more… God is in control of this world – by Him everything exists and continues to exist. When we look at it, we receive things from God every day, constantly – yet how do we react? All we are, all we have, all we can do is all because of Him. After all He has done for us, is anything not acceptable to do for Him? After all He has done for us, is it not our reasonable service to do something for Him… anything…
 
Whilst we continue to live on this world, it is very difficult to let go of the ways of the world and even the things that surround us. It is very difficult to stand up for something that is different – unless we are tempted to do something else. How easily we give in to the temptations and yet how we reject being different to do the right thing! We are so caught up in things that surround us, so caught up in the past and even the present that we grasp all that we can and live our lives according to all that we see and feel.
 
When we become Christians we need to let go of the world as it is. Let go of our old ways that have lead us to do the things we did. Let go of the past that we have created in our old ways. Our greatest problem is probably the fact that we conform our lives to the world and not to Christ. The world is not with God – why should we continue to do things to satisfy the world?
 
I’m not saying that we should simply forget about everything that we have done. God does not want us to do that because He has allowed us to walk the path that we have so far for a reason. We need to embrace the past that we have lived so that we can learn exactly what we have done. By doing that we can know the way of the world; but by embracing God we can also know the way of God. With those two ways in hand we can then choose the right path which is our reasonable reaction for everything that He has already done for us!
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you think that nothing can change the way that you are?
 
Have you let God have a go in your life?

Wednesday 13 Aug 2008

Wednesday Reading: Proverbs 27 20
 
Key Verse: Proverbs 27 20
20  Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
 
Devotion:
No matter what walk of life we are from we always seem to want more of something. Depending on where we are from, how we are brought up and what we allow into our lives we all will want after different things. This seems to be most obvious in people in very public positions or people who are in charge of others… Man’s lust and pride will always make him want more than he is given! We need not wait for too many hours before we see some leader going after more than they should in the news. Man takes his lust and pride and ignores others just to get that little bit more!
 
We can all relate to this simpler level by thinking of our favourite food – when we are given some, we always want a little bit more! We know that too much is not good for us, but we will always accept or take more than we actually need. Whilst it is not a bad thing to enjoy the pleasures of life that God does give to us, taking more than we need is not what God wants us to do!
 
It did not take Adam and Eve too long before they gave in to their greed in the Garden of Eden; and it will not take us too long before we give in to something in our lives. God continues to allow us to have access to so many things in our lives – whether we use or abuse that access is our choice because He has given us that choice. He wants us to be aware of our choices and how we can control them. Put a “chocoholic” in a room with lots of bars of chocolate and it will not be long before they give in, no matter how reformed they think they are.
 
But God does not put us into those sorts of positions! He will post a warning on the door saying that we should not enter for fear of the temptation that will take us. We are the ones that think we are strong and enter in to prove a point… breaking down and giving in and showing ourselves up as the weak humans we are! The temptations are there but God does not put them there! If we fix our eyes upon Him rather than our world we will be able to see those traps for what they are!
 
Points to Ponder:
What is one of your weaknesses?
 
Do you concentrate on the weakness or on God?